Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Thanks to Larry Giunta and the local Republican Committee for sponsoring last night's candidate forum in which 11 candidates, 2 for Mayor and 9 for City Council, each had 5 minutes to present their visions and ideas for the City.

Sunday, September 13, 2009

But there’s no single formula for new parks. Just climb up a short flight of stairs to the newly-opened “High Line” park on Manhattan’s West Side. You’ll find clusters of families and couples strolling, chatting, sipping lemonade and nibbling on waffles or sandwiches along what for years constituted a desolate and weed-choked stretch of abandoned elevated freight railroad track.

Now, from the meandering concrete walkways of this sliver of protected park space in the sky, the visitor catches stunning views of the Hudson, the Statue of Liberty, Midtown and Wall Street skyscrapers, plus amazingly intimate glimpses into the forbidden interiors of nearby apartments, stately townhouses, and offices.

Or check auto-happy, sprawling Houston. Two-term Mayor Bill White has made parks a top priority. Lead example: Discovery Green, 12 once-industrial acres on the east side of downtown. Among Discovery Green’s features: a shaded walkway featuring 100-year-old oak trees, thematic gardens with native Texas plants, birds and butterflies, fountains and spacious green lawns, a model boat basin, a children’s stage, WiFi everywhere, and two restaurants. Plus lots of people watching.

Indeed, if there were ever a bonanza decade for America’s parks, this is surely it. Add stunning new parks in Boston, Atlanta, Cincinnati, Denver and Santa Fe, plus the success of conservancies in revamping great old parks in such cities as Pittsburgh, Brooklyn and San Francisco.

And by good fortune, there’s a skilled chronicler tracking and analyzing the wave–Peter Harnik, parks expert for the Trust for Public Land and author of a soon-to-be published Island Press book on today’s parks phenomenon.

For amost a half century, Harnik notes, the reigning American park model was Disneyland– “corporate, programmed, extravagant, rural, flawless and electrifying.” City parks “began grinding down relentlessly everywhere” as people realized “the park experience could be sanitized, social classes could be segregated.”

So why the big turnaround now? Partly it’s the “wow” in the new city parks–fascinating gardens, theaters, concerts, fountains, ice skating. That’s why, says Harnik, the 2004 opening of the Millennium Park in Chicago had the biggest impact on the American parkland scene since New York’s great Central Park opened in 1873.

But Harnik insists there’s more to the revival–that we’re seeing a revival of factors “ignored in the din of massive suburbanization and sprawl–human scale, walkability, efficiency, and respect for ecological principles and democratic ideals.” Or put another way, we’re reawakening to parks’ ultimate value: “an interplay–a conversation–between people and nature.”

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

On Thursday, September 10at 7:00PM there will be a meeting in the City Hall Council Chambers to shed further light on the City Charter ballot question. Over 2200 citizens of Newburyport have signed petitions calling for a review of the city charter. The question will appear on the ballot in November. If the question is approved by the voters, a 9-member commission will also be elected.

Attending the September 10 meeting will be Steve McGoldrick of the UMass Collins Center for Public Management. McGoldrick is an expert on options for structuring forms of city governance. The president of the Winthrop City Council, Tom Reilly, will also be attendance. Winthrop is a community that has recently gone through the charter review process.

The meeting will be purely informational, and will be covered bylocal news outlets, including Port Media cable TV.

The public will be invited to ask questions regarding the Ballot Question, the Charter Commission or the review process.Looking forward to seeing you on September 10, 7-9 PM in City Hall.